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Roman Holiday: Olive Oil + Castile Soap Tutorial

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Continuing our emphasis on all things Rome  (you won’t believe the adorable Vespa soap roaring up and the awesome CP mosaic soap on tap), this blog focuses on simple and easy. After all, what did the earliest soapers use to soap with? Animal fats and olive oil were the two common oils. The name ‘soap’ comes from the popular myth of Mount Sapo, said to be located in Rome and olive oil is abundance in many Mediterranean countries, including Italy.

The Lazio region surrounding the capital is particularly well known for its exceptional olive oil. It’s not just for cooking! Olive oil is a staple ingredient in many soaping recipes. It’s also one of the few oils that is popular to use at 100% in soap recipes! Read on to learn more about the difference between pure and pomace olive oils, Castile (100% olive oil) recipes and using olive oil in other bath and beauty products.

Bramble Berry carries two different types of olive oil: Pure and Pomace. Pure olive oil is from the first pressing of the olives, and in soaping recipes, it allows you lots of time to work with a recipe. Pomace on the other hand, is made by extracting the last bits of oil and fat from the paste left over from pressing the Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It tends to trace much more quickly than pure olive oil, so it’s best for simple recipes. Unless noted, all recipes on the Soap Queen blog use Pure Olive Oil.

Since olive oil is pressed from real olives, the color of the oil can vary due to crop variations and where the oil is from. If you buy olive oil several times from the same source and you notice slight differences in color or smell, don’t worry!

Olive oil is a common ingredient in cooking and it’s widely available on grocery store shelves. Be careful though! When a variety of oils were put to the test (see All Olive Oils are not Created Equal) many of them failed. Rancidity was a common issue, so be sure that your source sells through and rotates their stock regularly.

Traditionally, Castile soap is made with 100% Olive Oil. However many Castile soaps have other oils in them, but Olive Oil is always a main ingredient. It’s somewhat controversial over how much olive oil needs to be in the soap to be called ‘castile’ but typically this amount is 80% or higher. Castile soap gets its name from the region in Spain where it was first created, and it’s one of the oldest soaps known to mankind. In fact, mentions of Castile soap have appeared in books as early as 1567 (though regular soap beats that by just a few years with its first mention in 1700BC)! Castile soap is known for being gentle and soothing. This Buttermilk Bastille Bar recipe by Amanda of Lovin’ Soap is a great recipe for sensitive skin that predominantly uses Olive Oil.

Because it only contains one oil, Castile soap is a great recipe for beginner soapers. Keep in mind, Castile soap is starts off fairly sticky and soft and doesn’t have a rich lather. It can take weeks to harden up enough to unmold, and even longer to cut. If you do make Castile bars though, it’s worth the wait, up to a year for them to shine. Yes, I have noticed that my castile bars lather better after a full year of curing time! Try your hand at making Castile soap with this quick recipe.

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Quick and Easy Castile Soap

38 oz. Pure Olive Oil

4.8 oz. Sodium Hydroxide

12.5 oz. distilled water

Neroli & Shea Fragrance Oil

9 Cube Soap Silicone Mold

Optional: Sodium Lactate to help release

If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Soap Crafting. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Adding Sodium Lactate to high olive oil content recipes helps to harden the soap so unmolding can happen more quickly (probably 30-50% faster). Add about  2 teaspoon of Sodium Lactate and stir. Set aside to cool. NOTE: This soap will stick in your molds for a ** couple weeks ** with or without sodium lactate (I am not joking; castile soap is *that* soft when soaping in silicone). 

TWO:  Portion out the olive oil. Once the lye water has cooled to 130°F or below, add the it to the oil and stick blend until medium trace.

Ooooh, look at that gorgeous green color from the pure olive oil; it’s so luxurious!

THREE: Add 3 oz. of Neroli and Shea Fragrance Oil. Since you aren’t doing any complicated designs or swirls, you can stick blend or whisk the fragrance in.

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FOUR: Pour into the 9 Cube Silicone Soap Mold. Now play the waiting game! It most likely (most definitely) takes a full two weeks to unmold this soap. Allow it to cure and harden for at least another 4 weeks, and longer if possible. Enjoy – and set aside a bar to test out in a year. You’ll be surprised how much the lather has improved after a full year cure time with this unique type of soap.

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Olive oil is also an excellent additive in scrubs and lotions. It’s even used in this Super Simple Boot Polish recipe! For melt and pour project, try the Olive Oil Melt and Pour base. If you’re looking for something a little more colorful and advanced, check out this Goat Milk Swirl Tutorial using Olive Oil + Goatmilk and yes, the silicone cube mold from this project. Bonus: it’s a video. =)

Stay tuned next for more Roman-themed tutorials. What have you made with Olive Oil recently? Do you have any tricks that you use to help it unmold more quickly for CP soap?

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67 Comments

  1. Hi there,

    I have a question. I followed this recipe exactly but I must of been mixing for about 2 hours and the mixture would not go past a light trace. I gave up and poured into my mold at this very light trace hoping it would still harden. It sat over night in the mold and I checked it this morning and it still not harden up – it is now like a pudding consistency. There is nothing wrong with my lye so I am not sure why this happened. I was using a mix-master, not a stick blender however I would’ve thought this wouldn’t of made this much of a problem. Any suggestions? Should I try baking it in the crock pot? Please help!! Thank you.

  2. hi – i have been trying to find a castile soap recipe that will make up only 1kg of soap in a loaf – i have a really good castile soap recipe that will make up 2kg and 4kg – will it be safe to halve this recipe??? – i just dont want to make up a huge size when i dont have enough of either EO or FO for the bigger loaf of soap – looking forward to your help on this as i am still learning and so far find the soap calc and my brain are not meeting on a level playing field – they just wont mesh together so thought i would take the easy way and ask someone instead – liz

  3. Thank you for posting this tutorial! I have one question. What percentage superfat was used for this recipe? I may have missed it, but I didn’t see it mentioned. I assume that increasing the superfat content would slow the curing?

  4. Hi
    Just making the pure Castile. I want it fragrance free. Presumably I can just leave out the EOs? I don’t need to add more olive oil to make up the shortfall?
    I look forward to hearing from you.

    • Hi James!

      That is correct! If you’d like to leave the soap unscented, you can skip the essential oil. Fragrance and essential oils are considered additives, so they don’t affect the recipe amounts at all. You can leave the recipe as is, just without fragrance. 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  5. Hi Kelsey.My name is Julie and i am from Grecce.I want to make liguid castille’s [olive soap]soap.I don’t know what to do.Can you help me please?

  6. Hello (:

    (I would have asked this under “All Olive Oils Are Not Created Equal,” but it wouldn’t let me.)

    I’m still confused about which grade of olive oil is best for soap. Some say that it makes no difference one way or another, but according to The Best Natural Homemade Soaps: 40 Recipes for Moisturizing Olive Oil-Based Soaps, by Mar Gomez, you should, “Use the highest quality extra virgin or virgin olive oil you can find to create the best soap” (29). I’d assume the highest quality is organic extra virgin olive oil.

    You use/recommend pure olive oil, which is a grade below virgin olive oil, and pomace “olive oil” which is the lowest grade.

    I know if you plan on consuming it, the higher the quality, the better–which also applies if you plan on using it directly on your skin/hair–but how much of a difference does it make for soap? Should you use a higher grade if you’re making soap intended for the face? Or, more specifically, a soap intended as a moisturizing mask since that’ll give your skin more time to absorb the ingredients? But then use a lower grade for hand/body soap since you rinse that off shortly after?

    I read:

    “…the higher-quality oils, like EVOO and virgin olive oil, contain more of the good-for-you healthy phenols (i.e., antioxidants). According to FitSugar, EVOO also has higher levels of vitamin E, vitamin A, chlorophyll and magnesium.

    That said, heat destroys a good amount of those beneficial components. In fact, a report published in the journal Food Research International this year stated that cooking with olive oil degrades its antioxidant power so much that you might as well be using other refined oils, like vegetable oil, which is cheaper.”

    http://www.hellawella.com/whats-difference-between-olive-oil-and-extra-virgin-olive-oil

    So wouldn’t you want a better grade since they have higher levels of vitamin E/A, chlorophyll, magnesium, and healthy phenols? Or does the saponification process destroy most of these beneficial components making it a complete waste of money and therefore it’d be better to use a lower grade, like pure olive oil, as you do, for your soap making?

    Just because fresh “high quality” olive oil (of any grade) doesn’t/shouldn’t develop DOS/creates a soap that feels very nice doesn’t mean that all grades create soap of equal quality. At least… That’s what I’m having trouble figuring out.

    If you can clear this up for me I would truly appreciate it.

    Thank you for your time.

    • Hi Daniel!

      That’s a great question! The saponification process is really hard on the ingredients you add to your recipe. Because it changes pH several times throughout the process, it is tough to say if all the nutrients in the oil make it through that harsh environment.

      The important thing to look out for with olive oil is the purity and how fresh it is. You want oils with no additives. You also want oil that is very fresh to help prevent DOS. We go through a ton of olive oil in our warehouse, so it’s nice and fresh when you get it. Learn more about DOS here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/dreaded-orange-spots/

      I think this is another case where experimenting and testing recipes will be really helpful. Test each olive oil in a separate batch, then give it a try. If you notice a huge difference between the organic extra virgin olive oil, you can definitely use that in your batch. We have found that pure and pomace olive oil feel nice and moisturizing in our bars. 🙂

      Pure olive oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Olive-Oil-Pure-P5246.aspx

      Pomace olive oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Olive-Oil-Pomace-P4928.aspx

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

      • Hey, thanks for your response (:

        I actually just found a pretty good article about this:

        http://www.soap-making-resource.com/olive-oil-soap-making.html

        “Unlike in cooking where you always want to use the highest grade possible, you can use the lower grade olive oil for soap making without any problems! In fact, some people prefer the lower grades because of its quicker trace. Surprised? Well, to be honest with you, so was I. Believe it or not, in olive oil soap making, we can actually break the rule of always using the best ingredients without any negative consequences!

        You see, here’s what you have to understand: ‘Grade B’ olive oil, as long as you use a completely natural and organic form of it, is only low quality for consumption not for cosmetics.

        Not only is there no harm in using ‘grade B’ for olive oil soap making, but it could actually be beneficial to use this type because the lower the grade, the more molecules there are that won’t go through saponification. In other words, more of the olive oil will remain intact throughout the reaction making the soap better for your skin as your pores enjoy the healing properties of the unadulterated olive oil.”

        Your response and this article have convinced me to NOT spend a fortune on organic EVOO (;

        Thank you (:

  7. Could I use sodium lactate and a salt water brine? Both the sodium lactate an the salt would go into the lye water, I want to make sure there won’t be a reaction.

  8. Hello, I love your website as a resource for learning to make soap! I was wondering if pure olive oil castile soap is the same as Marseille Soap (Savon de Marseille)? I’ve heard marvelous things about it, and that it’s a soap made of olive oil (made with sea water and maybe some other oils). Have you heard of it?

    • Hi Janine!

      So glad you love the website! Thanks for reading. 🙂

      I have heard of Savon de Marseille soap! There are several different definitions of what makes a savon soap. From what I understand, Savon de Marseille soap is a soap made with at least 72% olive oil. The rest of the oils can be coconut or palm. It is unscented. It is sometimes left uncolored, or has French green clay for color.

      French green clay: https://www.brambleberry.com/French-Green-Clay-P6444.aspx

      It often has a sea salt solution to help harden the bars up, as mostly olive oil soaps are on the softer side. We recommend about 1 tsp. of sea salt per pound of soap. To add that salt, dissolve it in distilled water before adding your lye. 🙂

      There is a Savon de Marseille inspired soap in Anne-Marie’s new book, Pure Soap Making: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pure-Soap-Making-How-to-Create-Nourishing-Organic-Skin-Care-Soaps-P6298.aspx

      We also have a fun stamp you may like: https://www.brambleberry.com/Savon-Soap-Stamp-P5893.aspx

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

    • Hi Kelsey.
      First thanks for sharing a good infos.
      10 days ago I made a Castile soap 100% extra virgin olive oil. The surprise was a soon as I pour the lye solution in the oil I get a medium traces in 30 second even without using a stick blender (only with a spoon). Temp of lye solution and oil was 120 and with 38% water .

      • Hi Bassam!

        I’m wondering if it’s the water discount. Water discounting can accelerate trace quite a bit. Did you have 38% water total, or did you discount 38% from the water and had 62% water? Thanks! 🙂

        -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

        • Kesley thanks for the reply. I used a total of 38% water .
          Im working in a vegetable oil refinery so i know well about the saponification reaction . I tried a pure olive oil with an acidity less than 1% at the same water ratio 38% and all looks fine .
          Im just wondering why extra virgin olive oil wont works well .
          Thanks in advance kelsey 🙂

          • Just to clarify, was that 38% water in the total recipe (including oils and lye)? Or 38% of the suggested 100% liquid amount? What liquid and type of lye are you using? The reason I ask is because olive oil usually takes longer than other oils to trace. What you’re describing kind of sounds like false trace, but that usually only happens with hard oils. You can read more about false trace here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/spot-prevent-false-trace/

            Let me know and we’ll get this figured out. 🙂

            -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

          • Hello again .
            My recipe was like this :
            300g extra virgin olive oil
            114 g water
            38.61 g sodium hydroxide
            And the temperature of oil and lye was 120 F
            Thanks in advance Kelsey:)

          • Thanks so much for that recipe! I ran it through our Lye Calculator and it looks perfect. I’m not sure why that soap is tracing so fast. You may check with the olive oil manufacturer to find out more, like if the soap has any additives. It may also be the lye. Do you know if it has any additives like aluminum? Thanks! 🙂

            -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

      • Hello again 🙂
        The supplier of the olive oil was my uncle’s farm 🙂 it is cold mechanical pressed olive oil with no additives at all . But there is some good news here. Yesterday i made another batch of that recipe same ammount of everything but the only change was the temperature of lye and oil. Both were at 83F and the process was working smoothly .
        Cant wait to unmold my soaps in a few days 🙂
        Im looking forward to give a try with aleppo soap since i get some laurel oil from there .
        They used to make ghar soap (laurel soap) with hot process so the glycerine split from the soap. Im going to try the cold process to see how it works 🙂

        • Oh that’s awesome, I’m glad that soap turned out well! It’s going to feel amazing on the skin. 🙂

          -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  9. Hi! Thank you for this! Is there a way to produce liquid type Castille Soap using cold process? Thank you! 🙂

  10. hi i made castile soap with orange and cinnamon fragrance about 3/4 weeks ago but the fragrance has dissapeared, wondered why, and is there a way i can dry the soap quicker as was wanting to give for xmas

  11. I was wondering if I can hot process 100% olive oil soap and will it still need to cure for a year?

    • Hi Monique!

      I must have missed this comment, I am so sorry!

      Hot processing your olive oil soap will definitely speed up the curing process. Because hot process helps cook out the excess water and speed up the saponification process, the soap is technically ready to use in about 24 hours. However, I would still recommend a couple weeks of curing. That will allow any excess water leftover to evaporate away, making those bars last longer in the shower. 🙂

      Read more about hot process soap here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/hot-process-series-crock-pot-camo/

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

      • Hi There, Just read your response about Hot Processing Castille soaps. If Hot Process shortens curing from a 6 month wait to 1 week, why on earth would someone want to make Castille using Cold Process??! Ha ha. But seriously I’m curious.

        • Hi Ericha!

          That’s a great question! It mostly boils down to personal preference.

          Cold process soap has a smoother texture that allows for a lot of great designs. For instance, you can do embeds, swirls, layers, etc. It also creates a smoother appearance over all. You can see that texture in the Silky Berry Cold Process Soap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea-UXZMXM1I

          Hot process soap has a thicker, more gloppy texture. It’s sort of like mashed potatoes! Because of this texture, it can be a bit more tricky to get the designs you do in cold process soap. However, you can still do beautiful swirls and layers! It also has a less smooth finish, we like to call it rustic. 🙂

          You can see that texture in the Lemongrass and Lavender Hot Process Soap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxTXwxbpzLM

          Both methods have pros and cons. I would recommend giving them both a try to see which one you prefer! We actually love doing both for different designs. For instance, hot process is amazing for soap with a lot of soft oils because it cuts down the cure time, while cold process is great for intricate swirl designs that need a smooth texture. 🙂

          You can find some great cold and hot process tutorials here: http://www.soapqueen.com/category/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/

          -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  12. Can I use EVOO for castille? is this advisable? I have about 10 liters of Kirkland EVOO on hand now, and 5 liters of Pomace.

    Which one do you prefer for castille? Im thinking it will be too soft a soap if I use EVOO.

    Thanks!

  13. Hi I’m a newbie here. In this recipe fragrance oil was used.how do u calculate adding essential oil (aragon etc) into this recipe?

  14. Hello! I have been making soap for about 3 years now and have always made 100% olive oil cold process. It does take a long time before I can unmold, and even longer to slice, but I find that it’s worth it!

    I use olive oil pomace, because of its affordability, and is has a lower amount of saponifiables. It’s almost like it superfats itself! I also reach trace relatively quickly, but with plenty of working time to add colors and create patterns. I’ve also begun soaping at room temp, as I was only going through partial gel phase, and decided to skip gel as opposed to taking the heating pad or oven route.(plus I’ve got a little one, and if my lye water is ready for me when I can get to it, the more soap I can make!)
    I have been planning some more complicated swirls, and am looking into sodium lactate to firm my bars up quicker. I don’t want to smudge my designs because my bar is still too soft in the middle. And that is how I stumbled upon this post. Would you recommend a water discount as well? I use your lye calculator. I’m here quite often, and always love the information I leave with. Thanks Brambleberry!

    • Hi Annie!

      I agree, I think castile soap is worth the wait! I love how gentle and soothing it is on the skin. 🙂

      You can definitely water discount if you like! Water discounting at 10% or so and adding 1 tsp. of sodium lactate per pound of oils to your cooled lye water will help your bars firm up a lot faster. Then, after the soap has sat long enough to firm up, you can cut those bars. If you notice they’re still pretty soft and wanting to smudge your swirls, let it sit another couple of days before cutting again. That way there aren’t any pesky drag marks.

      Keep in mind water discounting will bring that soap to trace a little faster than usual. To make sure you have lots of time to swirl, stick blend that soap until it’s just emulsified. Then, as you add color and fragrance, it will start to thicken naturally, but should still be workable. 🙂

      Read more about working with sodium lactate here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/sunday-night-spotlight-sodium-lactate/

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  15. Hello 🙂
    I would like to use herbal infusion = tea together with the 100% olive oil . can i freeze the tea before ading the lye to it in order to keep the benefits of the herbs. isn’t it too cold for the olive oil encountered with the lye solution?

    • Hi Hila!

      It’s hard to say if the benefits of the tea make it through the soap making process. However, the tea can add a beautiful natural color and is great from a marketing standpoint. 🙂

      You can freeze the tea if you like! Then, add the lye slowly and stir well. That will help the tea stay cool through the entire process. Also, because olive oil is liquid at room temperature, it will mix in just fine with the cold tea!

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  16. hi Anne
    what is d difference BTW hot and cold process.why u don’t use soda ash and silicate in your recipe and is it possible to male soap without this two ingredients. pls explain to me
    thanks.Ur post really help

  17. How long do you find this usually takes to trace? My olive heavy recipes can take 10 minutes or more to trace so I soaped this at room temperature thinking I’d have loads of time to color and do a nice funnel pour. I used rose absolute to scent it, because what better time to use an accelerating scent than in a super slow recipe, right? It went from barely tracing to pudding in about 5 minutes. By the time I finished incorporating the color into one half, the other half was already setting up in the bowl! I’m assuming the rose was the culprit (I salvaged the design by doing an in the mold swirl instead) but I was curious how long this normally takes when not using temperamental additives?

    • Hi Joan!

      One of the benefits of this recipe is that it takes longer to get to trace! How long that takes depends on temperature. We soaped at 100F for this recipe, and it took several minutes. 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  18. Hi Anne,

    Thanks so much for sharing this soap making processes. I am starting my own blog pretty soon too (castilesoap.bar) dedicated to bring organic and castile soap information and recipes. Your blog is a great resource and holds excellent content. Thanks for putting the time.

    Carlos

    • Hi Carlos!

      Thank you so much for your kind words! Also, thanks for sharing that link. I can’t wait to check it out.

      I’ll pass this link on to Anne-Marie so she can see it too! 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

    • Hi Martha!

      You can definitely use goat milk in place of water.

      Goat milk is a little trickier to work with than water. If it gets too hot it can scald, which can make the soap discolor or smell unpleasant.

      To keep this from happening, you can freeze your goat milk beforehand. Then, add your lye slowly – about a spoonful at a time. It helps to have your lye and goat milk mixture in an ice bath during this process.

      After you’ve poured your soap, pop it in the freezer to prevent it from overheating. I’ll include a video that shows the process step by step. 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

      Goat Milk Soap: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/goat-milk-soap-tutorial-on-soap-queen-tv/

  20. If I wanted to make a cp soap that was 75 or 80% olive oil what other oils would you add to make a better lather and less slimy bar? Castor? Coconut? Avocado? Palm?

  21. I did a batch a few months ago. While I didn’t do a water reduction, I did take it to very thick trace…enough to texture the top. It unmolded very quickly from a wood mold lined with freezer paper. I just took a bar and tested it, the lather is still silky rather than sudsy, but oh…what a lovely bar of soap! I didn’t fragrance it, and it has almost a nutty fragrance. 🙂

    • Hi Belinda!

      That sounds like an awesome and very natural soap! Also, thanks for sharing. 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  22. Can I use salty water instead of sodium lactate?

    If i have a liquid sodium Lactate that says in the label 60% solution, how much should I use?

    • Hi Diana!

      We didn’t test this recipe using salt water, but I believe it would be OK! You may want to make a small test batch to see if it works.

      Also, I’d recommend using distilled water because tap water can contain microbes or bits of metal. 🙂

      As for the other sodium lactate, I’m not sure! We only use Bramble Berry products so I can’t say how much to add!

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  23. A few days ago I made a Castile soap 90% olive oil 10%castor oil, I did a water discount. I was as to unmold in about 3 days.

    • Hi Marleny!

      Thank you for sharing! That definitely cuts down the waiting time. 🙂

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

  24. I use water discount too) but it takes extra care to deal with lye solution, because it becomes more dangerous.
    I found out that soaping with higher temperatures also helps. I am not sure about exact temperature, I have no termometer for my soap and lye, but the containers feel really warm. The soap gets to trace faster, there is more chance to get it through gel (putting it in warm place also helps), the unmolding is faster and easier and this soap is pretty good after only 2 – 2,5 months.
    This must be somewhere close to the CPOP, but without the oven)

  25. I’ve used huge water discount (about 18%-20% of water). Result was very hard bar! It was easy to unmold right the next day.

    • Hi Natalia!

      That’s awesome, thanks so much for sharing your expertise!

      -Kelsey with Bramble Berry

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